0325-GCG-FoothillsConservancy_ESG25_12-18 (2) - Flipbook - Page 23
2025 Impact Report / Celebrating 30 Years
Over the past year, the park has continued to
recover and thrive. Lee’s One Fortune Farm, which
cultivates the open agricultural areas, has rebounded
signi昀椀cantly after receiving federal assistance for crop
losses caused by 昀氀ooding. In partnership with the
Lee family, FCNC will soon begin a stream restoration
project along the lower section of Canoe Creek. This
work will stabilize the stream corridor, strengthen the
surrounding farmland, and make these lower 昀椀elds
more able to withstand future 昀氀ooding.
Countless hours of chainsaw work, debris removal,
and careful restoration transformed Oak Hill
Community Park and Forest back into a place
of recreation and renewal. Hundreds of tons of
downed trees and debris were removed, and several
trail reroutes were completed to ensure safe and
sustainable access.
The park’s infrastructure has been signi昀椀cantly
strengthened. Access roads and water diversions
protection for rare and threatened mussel species in
were repaired, and erosion-prone areas forti昀椀ed
Wilson Creek. Looking ahead, FCNC is partnering with
with stone. Prescribed 昀椀re—a key management
Trout Unlimited on a riparian restoration project, set to
tool—has resumed, helping break down fallen wood,
begin in spring 2026, and will resume development of
reduce wild昀椀re risk, and promote oak and hickory
public access infrastructure later that year.
regeneration while curbing mesic species such as
yellow poplar and red maple. Along 昀氀oodplain areas,
FCNC and partners have removed several tons of
invasive plants, making way for native species that
enhance both biodiversity and 昀氀ood resilience.
On more remote and rugged properties, the approach
to restoration has been one of patience and respect.
Many of these lands are deep in the wilderness
where heavy machinery would do more harm than
good. Instead, FCNC is allowing these ecosystems
Another area profoundly affected by Helene was the
to heal naturally, guided by the rhythms of the land
Wilson Creek Preserve. Just days before the storm,
itself. Stewardship continues in the form of vigilant
FCNC had completed a concept plan for new public
monitoring and invasive species management,
access to this property, a project designed to connect
ensuring that natural regeneration can take its course
more people with the beauty of Wilson Creek. Helene’s
without new threats taking hold.
昀氀ooding dramatically reshaped the landscape with
Hurricane Helene was a powerful reminder of both
erosion, sediment, and debris, and the focus shifted
quickly from recreation planning to cleanup and
ecological recovery.
nature’s force and nature’s resilience. One year later,
FCNC stands deeply grateful—for the resources,
partnerships, and community support that made
Over the past year, FCNC worked alongside private
recovery possible, and for the opportunity to continue
contractors and conservation partners to carefully
caring for the lands entrusted to us. Stewardship
process vegetative debris on-site and remove
doesn’t end when the skies clear; it endures through
manmade materials deposited by the 昀氀ooding.
every storm and every season of renewal that follows.
Collaboration with the North Carolina Wildlife
Resources Commission has ensured continued
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